1919 - Science

Science

Albert Einstein's 1905 theory of relativity receives confirmation May 29 from two British scientific expeditions organized at the initiative of English astronomer Arthur S. (Stanley) Eddington, 37. Einstein has insisted that his equations be verified by empirical observation and has devised specific tests; e.g., a ray of light just grazing the surface of the sun must be bent by 1.745 seconds of arc, twice the gravitational deflection estimated by Newtonian theory. The Royal Society has sponsored the expeditions, whose members include Astronomer Royal of England Sir Frank Dyson, now 51; an observation post on the island of Principe in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa provides a location for the experiment, plates of photographs taken of stars near the sun during a total solar eclipse are measured, the results published November 6 show that the rays of light grazing the sun do, indeed, bend by 1.745 seconds of arc, and Einstein is hailed as a genius for the accuracy of his predictions (see 1929).

German mathematician (Amalie) Emmy Noether, 37, gains an official appointment at Göttingen University, where she will develop theories of ideals and of noncommutative algebras. Anti-Semitism and male dominance have hindered her academic career despite the major contributions that she has made to the development of abstract algebra.

Vienna-born zoologist Karl von Frisch, 32, demonstrates that honeybees have a sense of smell not unlike that of humans, and although it is less highly developed they can be trained to distinguish between various tastes and odors. He will discover that bees use two types of rhythmic dances to communicate to other members of their colonies the distance and direction of food supply, a circling dance indicating that the food is within 250 feet of the hive, a wagging dance that it is farther away (see 1949).

Physicist Sir William Crookes dies at his native London April 4 at age 86; botanist Mikhail S. Tsvett at Voronezh, Russia, June 26 at age 48; Nobel physicist John W. Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, at Terling Place, Witham, Essex June 30 at age 76; Nobel chemist Emil Fischer at Berlin July 15 at age 66; zoologist and evolutionist Ernst Haeckel at Jena August 9 at age 85.